The Rabbit and her Contractor
by Ozlice101
Summary: "OH MY GOD! ALICE!" Oz screamed. He fought with Gil's grip on him, to no avail. She looked at the object impaling her and yanked it out, dropping beside herself.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of it's characters._

Chains

"Another mission completed." Alice sighed tiredly. She had just finished destroying the 50th chain in under a month. She was exhausted.

Gilbert put the seal on the B-rabbit's powers back in place, and Alice returned to her human form. The brunette fell to her knees from exhaustion, landing in a pile of the Chains' blood, panting from exertion. She clutched her throbbing heart as she tried to calm her rapid heart rate and breathing.

Oz ran to her aid, sliding to a stop in front of her. He scanned her for scratches and bruises, finding to his relief there were none. The blond hugged his chain protectively, feeling her difficulty breathing. He kneeled and picked her up bridal style before carrying her over to Gil. They walked to the carriage waiting on the outskirts of town and climbed in.

After several minutes of relaxing as the carriage brought them back to the Reinsworth mansion Alice calmed down and fell asleep in her contractor's arms. When the carriage came to a stop in front of the mansion the trio got out of the carriage, Oz carrying Alice. Oz laid Alice down on the couch closest to the fireplace and dragged over a blanket; draping it over the sleeping brunette.

He then roamed the rooms until he located Break, who was sitting on the back patio eating sugar cubes. Upon seeing the blond he greeted, "Why, hello Oz! What can I do for you?"

Oz answered, "We need a break. Alice is getting overworked, and i'm starting to worry about her health."

Break smiled. "Well, you're in luck." He popped another sugar cube in his mouth before continuing. "We have one last mission we have to offer that you guys can do. Then you'll have a break."

"What's the next mission?" Oz asked. He plopped down into the seat across from the one-eyed man. Break offered him a piece of cake, which Oz politely turned down.

"There's been a chain spotted near the sight of the Tragedy of Sablier, and we need you to check it out."

"But isn't that place connected directly to the abyss? Shouldn't chains in that area be normal?"

Break ate a tea cake in one bite before replying. "Yes, from time to time. However, because of it's connection to the abyss we need to make sure that the Baskervilles aren't planning to do anything sinister." He explained.

Oz nodded. The mission wouldn't be too exhausting for Alice. Just one chain; that was 7 less than their earlier mission.

After a moment Break questioned, "Where's Alice and Raven?"

The blond replied, "Gil is in the kitchen probably, and Alice is resting in the living room. " His stomach growled, asking to be fed. "When's dinner, i'm starving?"

The albino answered, "Any time now, the cook started the meal a few hours ago."

As if on cue, Gilbert walked in and announced, "Dinner's done."

"Great, i'll go wake Alice up. She'll get mad at me if I don't wake her." Oz said as he jogged down the hall to the living room. He kneeled down next to his sleeping chain and shook her shoulder lightly, rousing her from her slumber.

She rubbed her eyes and looked blankly at her contractor; too sleepy to comprehend anything at the moment. "What?" She croaked, her voice rough from sleeping.

Oz whispered, "Dinner."

The brunette was immediately was filled with energy. She jumped up, intending to run straight to the kitchen; however, she lost her balance as soon as her feet hit the ground, causing her to stumble into her friend's arms. Oz caught her before she fell to the floor and helped her regain her footing before letting her go. Alice and Oz then walked to the kitchen where everyone else was already waiting at the table. They sat, and everybody began eating.

Alice ate the most out of everyone, naturally, and as soon as he was done she walked off to her room. When everyone had finished Oz returned to his own room. As he changed into his pjs he thought.

Tomorrow was going to be a rough day, he could feel it. There was also a sense of insecurity he couldn't quite seem to shake; like he knew something bad was going to happen.

He climbed under the covers and relaxed, drifting off in seconds from their hard days work.

**Beepbeepbeepbe-**Oz slammed his hand down on the alarm clock, effectively ending the annoying beeping. He sat up and stretched before he got out of bed and dressed for their last mission.

After he was done Oz walked to the kitchen to make breakfast without waking his chain; she needed all the rest she could get. He quickly made some scrambled eggs and bacon then decided to wake Alice up.

When he knocked on her door it opened; she must have forgotten to lock it last night. Oz peered around the wall to see the bed, where his friend was fast asleep. A small smile tugged at his lips when he gently shook her shoulder and she looked up at him with the most adorable face.

"Breakfast." He said, answering her unanswered question of '_Why did you wake me?'_

She nodded ever so slightly in recognition to his words. The brunette got out of bed with the help of her contractor and they both walked back to the kitchen so they could eat. When they were almost done Gilbert came in, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Oz got up and pulled a container of eggs and bacon from the fridge and handed it to his valet; he knew that if he left all the food on the table none would be left for Gil, so he thought ahead and saved some for him. Gil thanked him gratefully, ate his portion then began washing the dishes. While Oz and Alice waited for Gil to finish they dozed off on their chairs until the raven-haired man woke them up so they could get going.

The carriage ride to the capital was fairly long, giving everyone aboard another few hours of sleep. Gil and Oz woke up when the carriage came to an abrupt stop. Gil looked out the window to see what the problem was, then screamed, "Damn it!"

He slammed the door open, revealing the chain that they were hunting roaming the streets, attacking everyone and everything in it's path. The chain was called Holy Knight, a chain that wore shining armour that glistened like the sun. It was huge, about the same size as the B-rabbit.

It looked over at the trio and cried, "The B-rabbit's here! If I eat it, then i'll be so much stronger than I already am!" It charged.

Oz shook Alice a little too roughly as he tried to wake her up; panic rising up from the pit of his stomach. Alice woke up confused, having no idea what was going on.

"Alice!" Oz yelled. "The chain is coming after us! Wake up!"

The girl stood without her usual enthusiasm she had when she got to defeat another chain and sighed, "The faster I get this over with the faster we can go home."

Gil unsealed her powers, allowing Alice to transform into the infamous B-rabbit. She scowled at the chain charging towards her, showing off her sharp teeth.

"When will these cards ever learn?" She wondered out loud.

"Alice, watch out!" Oz coached as the chain was upon her; but she was ready for it. She jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being sliced by the chain's massive sword, then slashed it in the side; denting the armour. Holy Knight knocked Alice sideways, shoving her into a brick building.

She grunted from the impact, causing Oz to call out with worry, "Alice? Are you okay!?"

The rabbit responded, "I'm fine. This card is simply getting on my nerves!"

She dug her scythe into her opponent's abdomen, piercing the armour and puncturing through to the other side. The chain screamed in pain as Alice yanked her scythe out of it, then watched as it sank back into the abyss.

"That'll teach you to mess with me!" She snarled.

"ALICE! WATCH OUT!" Oz screamed at the top of his lungs. He tried to run to his friend, but Gilbert held him back.

She turned around to see what Oz was warning her about, but instead of seeing what Oz had warned her about she felt something heavy slam into her head, throwing her backwards into another building.

"ALICE!" Oz cried again.

Said girl shook her head to rid her vision of the stars invading it. "I'm fine. Just caught me off guard." She reassured.

This time her opponent was Pitch Piper, a chain who solely relied on it's tunes to confuse and manipulate enemies. It began playing a song on it's ocarina that messed with Alice's head.

She shook her head again trying to ignore the voice creeping it's way into her mind, still unable to see clearly from the stars. Irritatedly she charged her opposer, intending to slice a hole in it's mid section. Pitch Piper stopped playing and gave her an insane smile before using the instrument to block her blade. She drove the scythe as hard as she could into the ocarina, though she couldn't seem to break it.

Suddenly, before anyone could think or do anything, a pole controlled by Piper's tune pierced through Alice's back, narrowly missing her heart.

"OH MY GOD! ALICE!" Oz screamed. He fought Gilbert's grip on him with all his strength, to no avail. She looked at the object impaling her and yanked it out, dropping it beside herself.

Using his free arm, Gil shot Piper several times in the head, causing it to disappear back into the abyss. Oz struggled more and more, the panic driving him more and more insane until his valet finally resealed the B-rabbit's powers and let him go. The blond rushed to his chain and kneeled next to her, inspecting the gaping hole in her chest.

He turned to Gilbert and demanded, "Where's the nearest hospital!?"

Gil scanned the area briefly. "One or two miles down the road." He ran over to his master and picked up the brunette bridal style. "Let's go!" He cried as they ran as fast as they could with a wounded girl to the carriage.

As he climbed in Gil ordered the driver, "Hospital, now!"

The carriage wheeled to life, rolling down the streets at a pace that made the passengers flop up and down from the force of every bump they hit in the road. Alice wearily glanced around the carriage, unable to see her companions. She was in so much pain she couldn't even bing herself to cry out from the crippling sensation.

The girl looked down at the gaping wound in her chest, shocked by the amount of blood she was losing; you would think she was a murder victim. She rasped in breath after breath, sucking in as much air as she could get. When they were almost there the pain became too much for her, causing her to pass out, which only freaked out the already terrified Oz even more.

As the carriage rolled into the parking lot Gil thruster some money at Oz to pay the driver with before he jumped out of the still moving carriage, headed for the hospital doors. He burst in yelling, "I need some help over here!"

Immediately several nurses rushed in a stretcher which Gil laid the brunette on. The one of the nurses asked, "What happened?"

Gilbert replied, "She got involved in a fight and a pole went through her body." Alice was wheeled down the hallway by the running nurses, out of the raven-haired man's sight.

After several second Oz joined him in the waiting room, severely shaken up. Gil tried to comfort him, but whatever comfort he could give made little impact. The only thing that could soothe his worries was seeing his chain alive, not in danger of death. The hours ticked by agonizingly slow, torturing the duo as they awaited news of their friend's fate. Gil suggested that Oz take a nap to loosen up, but the boy was too tense to even relax, much less fall asleep; he couldn't even imagine sleeping while his chain could be dying in the other room at that very second.

Finally, after what seemed like years a doctor emerged from the room they had brought Alice into. Oz sat up expectantly, fearing the worst. The doctor sat down next to them and flipped through the papers on his clipboards, sighing.

He looked up at the two people anxiously awaiting his evaluation. He started, "Your friend is in very bad shape. She should be dead." Oz's breath hitched on the word 'dead'.

"However," He continued. " she seems to be doing much better now than when you brought her in." The blond breathed out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"But she is still jeopardy. She lost a lot of blood, we're lucky the pole didn't pierce her heart, or else she would've died instantly." The doctor informed them.

Oz was unable to speak, so Gil thanked the man for him, and the doctor walked back to Alice's room. The raven-haired man glanced over at his master, who had his head in his hands, shoulders shaking lightly. He paced a comforting hand on his back, wishing he could stop the poor boy's pain. Why did they go on that mission in the first place?

"This is all my fault." He muttered under his breath. If they hadn't gone on the mission, if he had pleaded with Break for a sooner vacation this wouldn't have happened. If he had noticed what Pitch Piper was doing earlier he could have warned her.

Gil whispered, "No it's not."

Oz looked up at his valet, tears staining his cheeks. "I could have prevented it."

Gilbert pulled the blond in for a hug. "But you didn't cause it." He pointed out.

The boy's lower lip quivered. "I'm her contractor. It's my responsibility to watch over her and not let anything bad happen to her." He lowered his head and sniffed once. "I failed."

"No you didn't. None of us knew Pitch Piper was going to do that, you need to stop blaming yourself for every bad thing that happens to those around you." Gil said firmly. He placed a hand under the boy's chin, forcing him to look up. "You have a bad habit of doing that."

Oz sighed. "Yeah, but-"

"No buts."

The blond sighed again in resignment, maybe Gil was right. It still didn't change the fact that his friend was in the hospital because a pole was driven through her body.

They waited again for an update on Alice's condition, this time Oz began to get a bit drowsy, though he refused to let himself fall asleep. The same doctor as before walked over to them this time he didn't seem as down as the last time; which put Oz in a hopeful mood.

"How is she doing?" Gilbert asked the doctor.

"Badly, but she's stabilizing. She's awake, and keeps asking for her colleagues." He said.

Oz's face lit up in anticipation. "Can we see her?" The blond asked hopefully.

The doctor replied,"I don't see why not."

Gil and Oz looked at each other. "You'll have to stay quiet though, the last thing we need is to stress her out." He said.

The boys stood and followed the doctor to Alice's room. Inside were three nurses huddled around a hospital bed in the center of the room. When they saw the duo they moved aside, revealing the girl laying there. Oz covered his mouth with a hand as his breath hitched at the sight of her condition.

Sh looked horrible. Her skin was ghostly white, void of all color, making her look as if she was dead. The medical down she was wearing had a large bloodstain on the chest; the blood looked old in one places and new in others. Her small frame shook with every heartbeat and heaving breath.

"Alice?" Oz gasped.

I'm going to continue this story no matter what, but reviews will get chapters uploaded faster.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dislcaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of it's characters_

Trauma

"How is she doing?" Gilbert asked the doctor.

"Badly, but she's stabilizing. She's awake, and keeps asking for her colleagues." He said.

Oz's face lit up with anticipation. "Can we see her?" The blond asked hopefully.

The doctor replied, "I don't see why not."

Gil and Oz looked at each other. "You'll have to stay quiet though, the last thing we need is for her to be stressed out." The doctor informed.

The boys stood and followed the doctor to Alice's room. Inside were three nurses huddled around a hospital bed in the center of the room. When they saw the duo they moved aside, revealing the girl laying there. Oz covered his mouth with a hand as his breath hitched at the sight of her condition.

She looked horrible. Her skin was ghostly white, void of color, making her look as if she were dead. The medical gown she was wearing had a large bloodstain on the chest; the blood looked old in some places and new in others. Her small frame shook with every heartbeat and heaving breath.

"Alice?" Oz gasped in a low voice.

Said girl rolled her head in his direction, though she seemed like she couldn't see clearly still, given the fact that she was staring a few feet to the right of him. "Yeah?" She croaked.

The blond wanted to say something; he wanted to tell her how worried he was about her and that he was so happy she was alive, but he couldn't. He didn't trust his own voice at the moment. His breath hitched again, letting a short sob out in the process. Gil placed a reassuring hand on the boy's back.

"What Oz?" She asked, anger creeping into her voice because no one was answering her. No one noticed the use of her manservant's real name.

Oz took a deep, shaky breath. "We thought you were going to die." He said simply. This whole time he had been bracing himself for the worst, telling himself that there was no way he could save her, he had already screwed up when he let her get hurt in the first place.

Alice smiled her snarky smile, the one that Oz loved, and remarked, "I'm stronger than that. I would never die so easily, so stop moping." She was right there, what was he so sad about?

Oz smiled a little. "I'll try." He promised.

The brunette shut her eyes and whispered, "Good."

Just then the doctor walked back in. He suggested, "Why don't you two go home and get some rest? You're welcome to come back in the morning."

Gil replied, "Thanks, that sounds like a good idea. Can you keep us posted?" He added when he saw the fright jump into his master's eyes.

"Of course!" The doctor smiled. "We'll take good care of her." He reassured the shaken boy. The duo walked out together, Oz pulled in close to his valet. The blond removed his hand from his mouth and sniffed.

The raven-haired man felt so bad for him, he desperately wanted to make the pain he was feeling stop. He sighed in exhaustion though he wasn't physically tired; it had been an emotionally tiring day for all of them.

They climbed in the carriage waiting for them, sitting on opposite sides. The ride to their home was quiet and tense. Oz constantly looked on the edge of tears, though he refused to let them fall. Why did he always do that? To Gil it was more painful to watch his tortured expression than see him cry. At least crying would make the blond feel better, instead of letting the emotions build up like he was doing now.

When they were at the reinsworth mansion the two stepped out and Gil paid the driver. Oz stood and waited patiently for him, then they walked in together. Gil sat in the living room in front of the fireplace and offered the seat next to himself to Oz; but the boy rejected the offer and instead went to his room.

He dressed for bed then climbed under the covers, lying on his stomach. After a few moments of laying there he couldn't hold it in any longer and began to sob uncontrollably into his pillow. He cried for Alice, for her pain and suffering, and for the pain he caused Gil by being hurt by the events that took place earlier that day.

From outside his door Gilbert heard the pain filled cries and sighed, forcing himself to remember that both teen were going to be fine. He wasn't sure if the incuse had gone that far, but if their bond was close enough then he couldn't afford for the rabbit to die, because he would lose his precious master. And he could never be able to live with himself if that happened. He pushed off the wall he was leaning on and walked to his own room where he would spend the night.

_Second chapter, finished! Same rules as last time, next chapter guaranteed! Reviews=faster publication. Until next time!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer:I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of it's characters_

Return

The next morning when Gil woke up he refused to get out of bed, still drowsy from not getting enough sleep; but when he remembered how Oz was feeling the previous night he shot out of bed. He quickly dressed before speed walking down the hall towards his master's room. It was all he could do not to run in on Oz in his room. Gil exhaled once to calm himself. He knocked on the door twice and opened it.

Oz was still asleep, he hadn't woken up to the knock at his door. Gilbert walked up to and sat on the side of the bed, looking over the child's sleeping figure. The blond's cheeks were stained with tears and his cheeks were flushed from all the crying he did the other day. Even while he was sleeping Oz had a sad grimace on his face.

Gil gently shook the boy's shoulder, rousing him from his slumber. He looked up at his valet with his eyes half open. "Morning." The raven-haired man greeted.

Without giving any recognition to him or his words Oz laid his head back down and shut his eyes. Gilbert shook him again, but this time he didn't respond. Gil sighed, then rubbed the boy's upper back warmingly.

Oz had always been the most emotional in the morning, when he was still too tired to hide or control his feelings. He wanted nothing more than to be left alone right now, his nerves were already shot from the day before; he needed time to cope with the emotions. He curled up into a semi-ball, almost completely concealing himself under the covers. He wasn't cold, but the warmth was comforting.

Gil sighed again, it was clear Oz wasn't getting up for awhile. He shut the door behind himself as he walked out to smoke a cigarette.

The blond relaxed as soon as his valet left, he was so tense from his attempts to not cry in the presence of company it hurt. He wanted to let go again, to cry out all of his sadness, but he knew that if he continued to mope around he would only hurt Gil more than he already had. As much as he didn't want to, he had to put on a brave face, for Gil.

Oz forced himself out of bed and got dressed in his usual outfit. He washed the tears off his cheeks and brushed his hair before walking to the kitchen where Gilbert was smoking, his head hanging out the window. The raven-haired man smiled at him, happy to see that his master up and walking around.

"Awake now?" Raven asked.

Oz let out a short laugh. "Yeah."

Gil put out his cigarette and moved to the fridge. "Want anything to eat?" He offered.

"No i'm good." The blond politely turned down the offer and instead sat down at the dining room table. He ran his fingers along the stains in the wood absentmindedly. Without looking up at his valet Oz asked, "Are we going to see Alice today?"

Gilbert answered, "Whenever you're ready."

The boy nodded silently. He stopped the motion of his hand and stood up to get ready to depart for the hospital. It was getting closer to Christmas time, so it was getting too cold to go outside without a jacket on. Oz slipped on his white fur trench coat before reentering the kitchen where Gil was patiently waiting for him.

When Gilbert saw his master he pushed off the counter he was leaning on and led the boy to the court yard where there was a carriage sitting without a driver. He climbed up to the driver's spot as Oz got in the back, then they started their journey to the hospital. Throughout the ride Oz prepared himself mentally and emotionally to see Alice again in such a bad condition, knowing that she was on the verge of death just hours ago.

Once they arrived at the hospital Gil parked the carriage and both boys trudged up to the building. They asked the lady at the reception desk where Alice's room was, then followed the directions to the correct floor. Since the girl was doing better, they moved her from the emergency room to a regular hospital room.

Oz slowly opened the door and peaked around it to look inside, seeing no one other than the person they came to visit. He walked in and sat down in the chair next to her, Gil stood at the end of the bed. Alice was still asleep.

She looked much better than yesterday. Her hospital gown didn't have a speck of blood on it, and didn't seem to be in pain; though she was still pale as a ghost. Oz felt an enormous amount of relief, she was going to be okay; even though he had been told that last night he didn't truly believe it until now.

He gently held her small hand in his, rubbing his thumb along her knuckles. She was cold, but that was to expected, considering the amount of blood she lost. Oz brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it softly before resting his forehead on their interlocked fingers.

"Oz?"

Said boy jerked his head up to look at the girl who had spoken, gazing at him with drowsy, half open eyes, the smallest smile tugging at her lips.

"Good morning." He whispered. He couldn't help but smile at her, she was too cute.

"Good morning." She replied.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I got run over by a truck." She answered.

Oz smiled wider. "That's normal. You did get a pole thrown through your chest."

"And broke a few ribs." Gilbert added.

Alice tilted her head so she could see the raven-haired man. "Hi seaweed head."

Said man got a tick mark and his eye began to twitch. "Hey stupid rabbit."

Alice moved her head back to talk to her manservant. "It's so boring here. They won't even let me get out of bed." She sulked.

Oz laughed. "I'm pretty sure you've been asleep most of the time. You can't be _that_ bored."

The two teens continued to chatter, causing Gibert to smile at their antics. He was happy to see that his master was feeling better, even if the rabbit was the reason for it. Gil sat down on the chair next to the door and watched them talk. After a while a nurse walked in to check on the brunette, adding some morphine to the drip connected to her left wrist.

When left the two teens struck up another conversation, but this one didn't last very long before Alice's eyelids began to droop. Oz laid his head down in his arms next to hers, gazing into her eyes until they closed. He breathed a sigh and relaxed there for a few more minutes, taking in all of the girl's features. After another few moments he stood and walked over to Gil, who smiled down at the blond.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

Oz glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping girl. "Yeah, I guess."

"We can stay if you want, you know. I'm not going to force you to do anything."

"No, we can go." He said. It felt nice to talk to Alice again, but he needed to go home and leave her to rest; even though he didn't really want to. It hurt to leave her alone, but just seeing her acting like her normal self even though she was vitally wounded lifted his spirit.

Gilbert nodded and led the boy to their carriage outside and drove home. Oz sat down on the living room loveseat while Gilbert searched for Break and Sharon. He needed to find something for Oz to do to distract his mind from his chain that was i the hospital.

Gil found them on the back patio having tea. Sharon was the first of the two to see the raven-haired man, saying, "Why, hello Gilbert. What can we do for you?"

He sat down at the table with them and answered, "Do you have anything planned? I need to distract Oz."

Break swallowed the cake he was eating. "Why is that Raven?"

"He's worried about Alice." Gilbert replied.

"Has he gone to see her lately?" Sharon questioned.

"Yes, we just came back from the hospital."

"Is she doing all right?"

"She's better than yesterday."

"Well that's good."

Gil nodded.

Break said, "I don't have anything planned. What would you propose we do?"

"I don't know, that's why I came to you guys."

Sharon suggested, "We could go skiing, it's cold enough."

"That sounds like a good idea." Gil said.

He walked back to the living room where Oz was passed out in front of the fireplace. He looked at his master for a moment, then decided to let him sleep for a bit before he woke him up. Gil sat on one of the recliners and relaxed.

**Finished finally! Sorry for the wait guys, my internet was acting up. Please, reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of it's characters.**_

Recovery

When Oz had woken up Gilbert asked him if he wanted to go skiing, but the blond turned down the offer, wanting to go with Alice; but in her current condition she wasn't exactly eligible for that. Gil prodded, telling the boy he needed to loosen up, but Oz countered that as well, saying that he was completely fine now that he knew Alice was fine. After a few more minutes of debate, Oz won.

They stayed at the reinsworth mansion, leaving to visit Alice often. After a few days of visiting his chain Oz began staying overnight every other few days; which Gilbert was fine with since the more time he spent with her the more happy he seemed. Just watching the boy laugh and interact with her made him happy, and as long as he stayed that way he couldn't care less if the rabbit was the reason for his good mood.

The doctor let the brunette go home after a few weeks and a promise that she wouldn't do anything stressful to her injuries. Gilbert wheeled her in a wheelchair to the carriage they rode there and Oz sat next to her the entire ride, making sure that the bumps in the road didn't jostle her around too much.

Gil was completely convinced that Oz was being _way _overprotective of his chain, though the blond denied it when his valet brought it up. The boy was also spoiling Alice, making sure she always had everything she needed.

For awhile, the brunette didn't wear a shirt or bra; the bandages wrapped tightly around her chest concealed enough. The first few times Oz spotted her he almost had a heart attack, and only after Gilbert started threatening her did she put her shirt back on; though she left it unbuttoned.

Unfortunately Sharon was off on a mission with Break, leaving the two boys to fight over who got to change Alice's bandages. Gilbert didn't feel like getting his head bitten off by the carnivorous rabbit, but Oz insisted he do it; because even though the blond was her contractor, he wasn't exactly comfortable with doing something like that.

Eventually Oz got stuck with that responsibility, and every time he removed them he attempted to put them back on with his eyes shut, with some help from Alice of course. After some practice he got used to it and would open his eyes once he was almost finished; but regretted it whenever he got a glimpse of the stitches crisscrossing her chest. Alice almost always immediately noticed when he laid eyes on her wound, and quickly cheered him up every time.

The pain subsided after the first week or two, though Alice was still widely restricted on what she was and wasn't allowed to do. It took a total of about 8 weeks for Alice's broken ribs and flesh wound to heal completely, leaving behind a large scar in their wake; luckily for Oz the scar wasn't very visible unless you were searching for it.

One thing that severely irritated Alice as that she had to take it easy even _after_ the stitches were removed and she was completely healed. According to the doctor she needed to restrengthen her muscles before she could do anything strenuous. To the gang, that meant no missions for awhile; but that also meant a lot more missions once they started getting them again.

Sharon was back by the time Alice was done recovering, and demanded she be told every single detail of what happened while she was gone.

Most of the time for the first several days Alice slept, only waking up to eat and go to the bathroom. Because Oz refused to leave her for even a second, he ended up napping with her every time. They also cuddled a lot in front of the fireplace since it was winter now.

Gil had been planning their skiing trip now that Alice had the doctor's approval to go along with everyone. They left for their trip 3 days after Sharon and Break got back. Instead of going to an actual frozen lake, they went to a ice rink not that far away from the mansion.

Alice must have had some former experience, because she was an excellent skiier. Oz hadn't been skiing in awhile, and took a bit to get his edge back. Gil sucked horribly and spent most of the time clutching to the walls or falling. Break and Sharon looked like experts as they skated across the ice, performing multiple tricks in perfect synchronization. when they decided to head home everyone was exhausted.

Overall, those few months for the gang were crazy. Sharon saw them as a chance for Oz and Alice to grow close to each other, Gilbert saw them as the most boring time of his life. Even though it was obvious that the two teens' relationship had grown, neither of them let it show too much when they were around the others.

Throughout the time it took Alice to get better, her and Oz came up with a secondary form of communication that only they truly understood, which made it easier for Oz to help the brunette whenever she was in too much pain to talk. Gilbert questioned their sanity from time to time when one of them burst into laughter or said a seemingly random sentence to the other; unaware of the signals being passed between the two.

Luckily for Alice and Oz, that special form of communication was going to save their lives one day, though no one knew that quite yet.

_Finished with this chapter! Anyone who has a guess as to what they think is going to happen in the next chapter please write it in a review, and if the guess is better than what I had originally planned I might just use that idea instead! Reviews= faster chapter updates!_


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